Mother Knows Best
by Coral Candy
Summary: Booth insists on taking Bones home for Christmas as he refuses to let her spend it alone. Mary Booth has been trying to get her son married off since he was 20 and it just so happens that Temperance Brennan is her favorite author...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer – I do not own Bones. 

A/N – Hope you enjoy:)

Mother Knows Best – Chapter 1 

Five books lay in the bottom of the old-fashioned wicker basket. Its carrier was a glamorous middle-aged woman with blonde-white hair and a lilac trouser suit one. Ageing hands clutched at the handle as she slowly edged forward in the queue. Glancing down at her watch she realized that she had promised to meet her husband fifteen minutes ago at the front of the department store. They had split up in order to do their respective Christmas shopping and reunite for the things they needed to choose together. Having been separated for a good two hours, Mary Booth had spent an hour and a half of that time waiting in queue at the book section.

Catching sight of her husband walking through the store she called to him and waved him over to her. He obliged and walked over to her, any bags that he may have had a little while earlier, clearly had been stashed away as his hands were empty and were stuffed into the pockets of his suit jacket.

"Where have you been? I've been waiting by the door in that damned fragrance section for twenty minutes, people were giving me odd looks." Arthur said under his breath, glancing down to look at her purchases hidden from view in the famous brown paper bags.

"Sorry darling, but this queue is just so long but I simply must get these signed! Did you get everything you needed?"

"Hmm…" he said distractedly, looking into the basket and picking up one of the books and studying the back of it, "I was in the music section, a Canadian singer was signing CD's."

"Really? Do you know who they were?"

"No, she was blonde though, sitting with a man, I didn't know if they were a band or a couple but I think he may have been the manager… What is this?" He asked, gesturing to the book in his hands.

"A book by my favourite author who has come to New York to sign copies so be nice because we are almost there."

"I got that it was a book, but the story makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever." Arthur said dropping the book back in the basket and looking ahead.

"Well it wouldn't would it?" She told him simply, "Taylor asked me for it for Christmas, she hadn't read them so I thought it would be nice to buy her the whole series as well as the new one for me."

"When is she coming up?"

"The 23rd. She says that Joseph's gotten so big since we last saw him, I can't wait, the whole family's coming back this year, do you realize that that hasn't happened in more that ten years!"

"When are Jared and Seeley getting here?"

"I'm not too sure, I spoke to them both yesterday. Jared is bringing Sarah up, you know the girl he met in the summer. I've tried to convince Seeley to bring a girl home but he says there's 'no one' right now."

Arthur nodded in sympathy for his sons mostly and amusement for the observation of his wife trying to have their sons married off as soon as possible. He glanced up and saw the person in front of him was having their book signed. Mary stepped forward and thrust the basket into her husband's arms and collected the books from the bottom.

Arthur rolled his eyes at the antic and looked at the woman sitting behind the table. She was very pretty with tired looking eyes, yet her smile remained intact. She took a huge sip from the mug on the table full of what he presumed was coffee. The name plaque in front of her read, _Dr. Temperance Brennan_.

1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

The woman looked up at them as Mary approached the table, she smiled politely, asking them how there day had been so far. Mary chatted away about having been there since seven that morning looking for Christmas presents. Dr Brennan smiled in understanding.

"Who shall I write to?" She asked pointing to the pile of books that Mary and place in front of her.

"Oh, sorry. These four are for my daughter Taylor Kemp, and this is for me, Mary." She told her separating the books into two piles.

"Kemp?"

"Sorry?"

"Mary Kemp?"

"Oh, no, sorry dear. Mary Booth."

The author looked up at that. She looked at them both for a second before returning to the books. A second later a loud ringing noise caused several people to jump. Dr. Brennan looked guiltily around before muttering an apology and reaching into her pocket for the offending item. She smiled quickly at the couple and answered it.

"Brennan."

Mary turned to smile at her husband when she saw a crowd of people outside, they were all following a young woman. She had her head covered by a jacket, with a man holding it over her head.

"That's why it is so packed today!"

"No Mary, it is packed because it is five days until Christmas."

"This better be important because I am in the middle of a book signing!" Dr. Brennan said sharply into the phone. Mary could hear the young woman's side of the conversation.

"Booth!" She cried into the phone. Mary and Arthur both whipped round in recognition at their name. She realized the misunderstanding and held the phone to her shoulder.

"Sorry, I meant the phone." A muffled '_Bones!'_ could be heard through the material of her top.

"I'm here!" Nothing could be heard as the caller had decided to speak at a normal speaking volume.

"I don't know, stay in and write some more I suppose. Is this really important now?!" Apparently it was because she sighed and listened to his argument.

"Meet your pare…What! Booth! No, I can't do Christmas by myself, let alone do it with someone else…I'll be fine!… What do you mean alone at Christmas? I won't be alone, I have Whiskers… A cat is company!…I'll be fine Booth!… Honestly, I'll even buy myself one of those turkey dinners…well I haven't had a real Christmas meal in years so I wouldn't know anyway… I will be fine by myself… there are hundreds of people alone on Christmas!

Mary raised her eyebrows in amusement to the one sided argument she was witnessing.

"_And you won't be one of them!" _Could be heard through the phone. She flinched at the noise and looked at the growing queue.

"Booth, I'm going to have to ring you back later… what we'll discuss this later… Booth!… Fine!…Yes!… Yes I'll come! Now get off the damned line!" She cried hanging up.

Dr. Brennan smiled awkwardly at the couple before her and picked the pen back up.

"Sorry about that."

"Don't worry dear." Mary assured comfortingly, easing the young authors guilt and embarrassment. Another loud ringing noise rang throughout the book section, this time belonging to the phone of Arthur Booth. He took it out and looked at the caller ID.

"Seeley." He told his wife, again Dr. Brennan looked up in surprise. He handed Mary the phone, certain that the call was going to be for her.

"Seeley?" She answered happily.

"Your father and I are just doing a bit of last minute shopping… _you have?_ Excellent… when should I expect you and _your friend… _I'm not insinuating anything; I am merely asking when to expect you… Hmm… Okay Seeley, this friend is it female?"

Arthur noticed that he wasn't the only one interested in the conversation and that Dr. Brennan seemed intrigued by the parts she had heard. Arthur had to assume that his son's friend was female judging from the ladylike squeals of delight that were emitted from his excited other half.

"Brilliant! I shall see you on the 22nd!"

A/N – Okay so my first Bones fic, sorry if some of the information is a little inaccurate, I live in England and we are about five/six episodes behind but I wanted to make it as up to date as possible, not sure if I'm going to have the whole Booth/Cam thing in here though, it could very well become an Alternate Universe story. I just needed to write something about the two of them because Sky One have just announced that Bones will be returning in February! February!!! What am I supposed to do until February? Anyway, please review, I live off reviews.

LJ

X x x


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer – I do not own Bones Mother Knows Best – Chapter 2

"Brennan." Bones answered the cell as she handed over her plane ticket to the attendant.

"Sweetie, how was the book signing?"

"Ange?"

"Yes, who else would it be?"

"Passport Miss?" The attendant asked handing her the ticket stub back. Bones cradled the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she dug around in the travel file for her passport.

"Sorry Ange, I'm not feeling too well, I think I must've caught something." She said handing the attendant her passport and stashing the ticket in her bag.

"Aww, not right before Christmas."

"Hmm."

"So, Christmas party this year, I didn't think Cam was going to let us have one but I pestered and pestered and she gave in. It's on the 21st."

"Angela, that's tomorrow."

"Yes, I am aware of that."

"Angela, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to make it." Bones said apologetically, making her way outside to where her plane was.

"Brennan, you have to!"

"I have a thousand and one things to do…"

"The Christmas party being one of them, come on sweetie, you can't let me down on this one."

"… I… uh… I don't have anything to wear."

"Then we'll have to go shopping!"

222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222

"Peanuts?" Bones turned her attention to the airhostess offering her a snack.

"No thank you."

The flight attendant smiled and moved across the aisle to a where a balding man and his wife were sitting. Bones slipped the headphones onto her head and tried to focus on the festive movie playing. It was called 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas', she vaguely remembered Booth telling her about how it was Parker's favourite holiday movie. She couldn't understand why, the science behind it was illogical and some of it downright impossible. It seemed to be keeping most of the children on the flight amused though, not that there were very many on the plane though. She checked her watch again noting that it was only an hour to landing anyway.

She took one last look at the green being on the screen before taking the headphones out and pushing her head into the cushion that Zack had bought her for her birthday last year. He had stuttered a nervous Happy Birthday while she opened the plush pile of paper that her had handed to her. He explained that since she travelled such a lot that it might come in handy. He had only been working for her a sort while and was still very nervous around everybody.

22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222

"Miss? Miss, we're landing now." A hand gently shook Bones awake from beside her. A gentle looking elderly man was smiling down at her while she blearily opened one eye. Looking out of the window she could see the familiar skyline of Virginia as they descended into Washington Dulles Airport.

She had made a quick exit from the plane having not enjoyed the flight or landing one bit. Usually she had someone she knew next to her, somebody who knew of irrational fear of flying. Not that she would ever admit to it of course, they knew but never mentioned it or brought it up with her, she would simply deny it if they did. Booth was the best for sitting next to on a flight; he would strike up a conversation just before take off, usually one on a topic where they had opposing views. They would be in the air before she knew it, having argued the entire way up. After the captain turned off the seatbelt signs, he would pat her on the arm, say 'That's good that you think that Bones' and stride off to the bathrooms.

She walked through the tunnel, grateful for the shelter as the weather outside was bitterly cold and snow was gently falling. She wheeled the small bag she had out of the gate and looked around for a pay phone to call a taxi on. Seeing on in the corner of the Arrivals gate she inserted the quarter into it and pressed the button to call the local firm.

"Bones!" A voice called from behind her, she turned around and saw Booth struggling to get through the crowd of people. She hung up the phone and moved towards him, he managed to squeeze through and meet her halfway. He had snowflakes sitting in his hair eyelashes.

"Booth? What are you doing here?"

"I came to pick you up." He told her reaching for the bag she was wheeling around. He took it from her and handed her a cup of coffee.

"I could have called taxi." She said taking the bag back from him.

"I'm not having you get in a taxi by yourself at this time of night, you don't know what you could get yourself into." He frowned and took the bag again; turning and walking towards the exit this time she didn't try to take it back, just took a sip from the Starbucks container he had given her.

"I'm perfectly capable of calling a taxi and getting home safely" She said defensively running to catch up with him.

"I know Bones, I just wanted to make sure you got home okay."

22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222

"Brennan!" Angela cried happily as she entered Bones' office the next morning, "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better thank you."

"Dr. Brennan." Hodgins greeted Bones as he wandered into her office after Angela, "How was New York?"

"Um, it was okay thank you." She told him only half listening to what he had to say as she signed some of the forms left on her desk.

"So, you and I are going to go to the mall for lunch." Angela told her seating herself on the sofa.

"I'm sorry, what?" Bones asked looking up at her friend and work colleague.

"The Christmas party, tonight. Tempe I thought we had this conversation last night, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. Angela I don't think I'm going to be able to do lunch. I promised Booth I'd meet him for lunch."

"So what if you have to cancel your hot lunch date, I'm sure if he's as crazy for you as we all think he is he'll still be available for tomorrow's lunch."

"I'm not here tomorrow, I'm going back to New York."

"What? Why? You only just got back, your editor seriously can't make you work Christmas, or is this another case?

"Neither, I told Booth I'd go to New York with him for Christmas with his family."

In the parking lot where Booth had parked his SUV in his usual spot he heard a strangely familiar squeal from the building across the way.

'_Was that Angela?'_

A/N - First off can I just say a huge thank you to all the wonderful reviews I received. When I first logged on to the computer I though I must have received a great lot of junk email and was wonderfully surprised when I realized it was your reviews.

Am slightly happier now that I know that Bones season 1 is being repeated over the holiday period. There'll be an episode on everyday, which is okay I suppose but I still can't wait until Feb!!

**Hope you enjoy, please review. :)**

**LJ**

**X x x**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer – I do not own Bones. Mother Knows Best – Chapter 3 

"Have a wonderful time okay, and Tempe?" Angela called to her friend, as she was busy sorting out her ticket. Bones looked up at her midway through her search, "Live a little sweetie."

Bones raised her eyebrows in question.

"I think what she means to say is if Booth makes a move on you, respond to it with as much enthusiasm as we know you hide behind that serious workaholic demeanour." Hodgins told her.

"If it helps, just pretend he is a rotting corpse of a five hundred year old dead guy." He added as an afterthought.

Angela glared at him. He smiled guiltily as pressed a kiss to her head.

"Okay Bones, we're all set. We are at check in desk 34, that is over there." Booth pointed over to their right as he pushed a trolley full of cases towards the small group

"Okay, so we better get back, Cam said we can't go on a Christmas break if we don't get all our work done. Who knew she could be such a scrooge!" Angela exasperated.

"Imagine what she would be like if she knew Booth was taking Dr. Brennan home with him."

"Okay Hodgins!" Booth cried pushing him towards the exit of the airport, "Thanks for the ride, I will see you in 2007. Merry Christmas Angela."

"Merry Christmas Booth." She said hugging Bones tightly, "Remember what I said!"

Booth transferred Bones' case onto the trolley where his were and led her over to the queue.

33333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333

"Well?"

"Still delayed."

"I can't believe this, we've been waiting three hours!"

"I know Booth but air travel can be unreliable." She said dropping down into the uncomfortable departure lounge seat next to him.

"Do you want another coffee or something?" He asked standing up and straightening his t-shirt, "I'm going anyway. I need to stretch my legs."

"Yes please."

Booth wandered round the edge of the lounge looking for a coffee shop, spotting a Starbucks in the corner he headed towards it when his cell phone started to ring.

"Booth." He answered.

"Honey, that's such a formal way to answer a phone."

"_Mum?_"

"Yes dear it's me, I was just wondering what time your father and I can expect you and your friend."

"I don't know the plane's delayed at the moment. We've been stuck in the airport for three hours already."

"Your friend is still coming isn't she?"

"Yes Mum."

"What did you say her name was?"

"Bones."

"_Bones?_"

"I meant Tempe."

"Oh."

"Listen Mum, I'll phone you when we get there okay?"

33333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333

Booth came back holding two coffee cups and an assortment of pastries and cakes. She eyed them hungrily. Before she could stop it, her stomach began to rumble by its own accord.

"Hungry Bones?" Booth asked with an eyebrow raised.

"A little." She admitted.

"Pastries and cakes aren't going to fill you. You want some Pizza or something?"

"Sure, I'll come with you."

They walked over to the pizza hut and ordered two slices of the Pepperoni special.

"What made you change your mind?"

"About what?"

"About coming to New York with me."

Bones looked up at him from over the salad bar and saw that he was deadly serious with his question. She thought about why she had said yes, part of her really had been trying to get rid of him so she could get on with her book signing, but another part of her, a part that she suspected was a lot bigger had wanted to go with him. She was fed up of spending every Christmas alone. She never really believed any of the nonsense that came out of her mouth about Jesus having not really been born on that day, it was just an excuse so she wouldn't get hurt on Christmas Day when nobody bothered to see how she was. She would tell herself that it was because they knew that she didn't believe in the festivity. She debated with herself on whether or not she should tell Booth the real reason.

"I was afraid of spending another Christmas alone." She settled on the truth.

"I thought you didn't believe in the holidays."

"I don't, well partly not. Christmas is a time for giving and sharing. That's what my mother always used to tell us at Christmas time. It's about love. I don't believe in that part. It's not, too many people are hurt over this time of year for it to be made special."

Booth looked at her and was shocked to see the truth in Bones' eyes. He knew she was really opening up to him and he was delighted that she was finally letting it out in the open but was also scared of the intimacy of it all. She was basically baring her soul to him and didn't seem too bothered about it, which he should have been thrilled about but in all honesty, he didn't know what it meant.

"Do you hurt over the Christmas period?" He asked her, selecting his words carefully.

"Sometimes." She told him truthfully, feeling the tears begin to well up in her eyes she quickly brushed them away with the back of her hand and went back to spooning pasta salad into the plastic pot for them to share. Sensing that it was a sensitive subject still Booth decided to leave it and go and collect their slices from the pick up.

As they walked back to their seats in the departure lounge he placed a hand on the small of her back and leant down to her ear.

"Just for the record Bones, I'm glad you did decide to join me."

'_Me too Booth, me too.' _She added silently.

**A/N- I know this chapter is short but it is the second chapter in one day so I hope that makes up for it. I should be posting the next chapter early tomorrow, (well early in England) as long as I have all my last minute Christmas shopping done. :) Thank you again for the wonderful reviews, I will try to reply to them as soon as possible, I just wanted to make sure that I was able to post this.**

**To the reviewer who asked me what channel I was watching the repeats of Bones on, it is Sky One and they start on January 1****st**** I think.**

**LJ**

**x x x **


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer – I do not own Bones Mother Knows Best – Chapter 4 

Booth dialled the number on the phone fitted into his armrest and waited for someone to answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey Rebecca, I was wondering if I could speak to Parker if he's still up."

"You're in luck, the little monster didn't want a bath so he's still awake."

Booth could hear the little boys laughter in the background and he felt his heart go heavy in his chest. It was the worst time of year for missing Parker. He'd only had him one year out of four and he couldn't seem to let Rebecca have him. A judge would rule against him because of his career and then he could lose all access to Parker.

"Daddy?" Booth smiled against the mouthpiece at the sound of his son's voice.

"Hey little man I just wanted to say goodnight."

"We just saw each other today."

"I know but I'm not going to see you again until after Christmas so I want to phone you all the time."

"Where are you going?"

"New York"

"All by yourself?!" Parker's little voice gasped on the other end of the line, before Booth had a chance to correct him, Parker was already calling out to him mother.

"Mummy, Daddy's going to New York by himself for Christmas, he can come and stay with me, right?"

"Parker" Booth called from his end, "Parker!"

"Yes?"

"I'm not going to New York alone. Nana Mary and Grandpa Arthur are going to be there, and Uncle Jared and Aunt Taylor." His gaze dropped to the sleeping form of his partner sitting next to him, "And you remember the Bones lady? Dr Brennan. She's coming too."

"Dr. Bones is going?"

"Yes Parker."

"Daddy, is she going to be my new second mummy, like how Drew is my second daddy?"

Booth had to stifle a laugh at this; he wondered how Bones would have responded to his son's question. Probably with shock. She swore that she was no good with kids, yet he had seen her interact with them and she had a very natural maternal instinct that she did not know about.

"No Parker, Dr. Brennan is not going to be your new mummy." Even as the words left the mouth he felt another sharp tug at his heart and felt it drop in his chest.

44444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444

"Bones." He tried gently shaking her but she would not rouse, just turned her head and let it drop onto his shoulder. Pausing in surprise he tried to slip out from underneath her before she woke and realized what she was doing.

"Sir?" The call from the male flight attendant stopped his movements and he turned to listen to him.

"Chicken or the pasta sir?"

"Chicken please." The man took a container out of the trolley and placed it on the fold down tray in front of him.

"And for your wife?"

Booth looked up in surprise to see the man looking right at him, he quickly checked behind him to see if he was talking to somebody else but nobody behind him was paying any attention. He turned to look at Bones to see her reaction to the man's comment. She of course was still asleep and buried even further into the material of his t-shirt. He could see how the man would be confused; she certainly did look like she could be in a relationship with him. Unsure as to whether to say anything to the man, he knew Bones would say something.

"Um, Pasta please." He decided not to, taking in the feeling of what it felt like for somebody to think that they were married. He knew that many people thought that they were together when they first met them but they had all had the record set straight, mostly from Bones. He took the tray of Pasta from him and set it on the tray in front of her careful not to wake her as he did it. Once he had managed to fix it so it wouldn't slide off by it's own accord he turned back to his own meal, smiled down at Bones still asleep at his side and focused on the Christmas movie playing.

44444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444

"I still can't believe you let me sleep through the landing!" Bones cried as she charged ahead towards the baggage claim carousel.

"You don't like flying, I thought you'd be grateful for the distraction." Booth tried to reason with her unsure of why she was so mad with him. At his comment she spun around checking that nobody had heard him.

"That is not true, I'm perfectly okay with flying!"

"Of course you are," he replied sarcastically.

"Shhh!"

"Oh so today you admit that you are scared of flying?"

"Not afraid, just have a particular dislike towards it."

"Sure, that's what it's called." He told her moving ahead of her as he saw pieces of their luggage approaching.

Once all their bags had been collected Booth had stood in line at the rental car desk waiting to pick up their vehicle as Bones kept a watchful eye over their luggage as well as buying sodas from the nearby vending machine.

"Here we are, parking space 42B." Booth said as they stopped in front of a black SUV.

"Thank goodness, now we can go, that airport was stuffy and smelt funny." Bones complained as she strapped herself in around their hand luggage while Booth loaded the suitcases into the trunk.

As they drove out of the city and towards the mainland, a soft thud could be heard. Booth turned to Bones in alarm but relaxed when he saw that she had just fallen asleep and was now using the window as a headrest. He was surprised that the impact hadn't caused her to wake up. Smiling as he switched the radio to a station that played music that he liked he wound down the window taking in the chill smell of New York, happy to be with Bones this Christmas.

**A/N – Okay so that is Chapter 4, I know it is short again but I should be able to load the next chapter later on today to compensate. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, they make me smile. I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas Eve.**

**To the anonymous reviewer who asked if I could write 'Mom' instead of 'Mum', as the chapters have already been mostly written I won't change them as it does not make the story difficult to read and is still understandable. Could I just ask how many of the reviewers are American, also what do you say in NZ?**

**LJ**

**X x x**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer – I do not own Bones. Mother Knows Best – Chapter 5 

Bones had been awake for about half an hour, not wanting Booth to know that she was awake she had stayed pressed up against the cool glass of the window staring out at the masses of fields either side of the highway. Snow had fallen picturesquely on the trees and corn making it seem like the front of a Christmas card.

She could heard Booth hum along to the song playing on the radio, it sounded sort of familiar and every few seconds he would break out in song, singing along to it. He didn't seem to know many of the words though.

She stayed silent as he pulled off of the interstate and onto an unlit lane to the left. The sun had set a while ago and it was almost pitch black save for a few fairy lights strung up in the distance. Bones could barely see the line of trees besides the car, she had no idea how Booth was navigating the car down the windy road. Apparently he wasn't.

The car lurched forward and braked suddenly. Bones fell back against the headrest and the car jerked. She heard Booth put his foot flat down on the accelerator, only to hear the engine turning and revving, yet they were going absolutely nowhere.

"Damn it." She heard Booth mutter under his breath. Seeing that he needed help in the current situation, she 'woke' up and looked out the window in surprise.

"We've stopped." She pointed out obviously.

"Well done Sherlock." He muttered sarcastically, obviously annoyed with the predicament that they were currently in.

"Sherlock? I don't know what that means."

"I know, I know." He said with a slight tone of hostility laced in his voice.

He climbed out of the car with a flashlight. Shining it in front of them, he could see that he had driven straight into a wall of snow. Well it was a wall of snow now, he suspected that it had been piled onto the branches of a tree to begin with and only when the weight of the car had hit it had it fallen down to look like a wall of snow.

Getting out of the car she too went to look at the how bad the situation was. The entire front of the car had been wedged into the snow and it didn't look as if it was going to move easily. The air was bitterly cold and she found herself shivering in the thin-sleeved top she was wearing, Booth picked up on it too.

"Get back in the car Bones, you'll freeze to death out here." He told her gently, he offered her a smile and she took it as an apology for the tone he had taken with her earlier. She was about to argue that he too would get ill when he interrupted her.

"I have a jacket Bones, I'll be fine."

"So will I." She told him stubbornly. He frowned at her but decided against arguing with her knowing that both of them would get cold for longer if he did. He inspected the damage carefully bending down so he could get a closer look.

"Boo.." She stopped mid-sentence as she felt something cold fall on her nose. She looked up and around only to notice that it was snowing. The flakes began to fall heavily very quickly as both Bones and Booth made a mad dash to the car. Sitting down they turned the heating up as far as it would go and sat in silence for a few moments both thinking about the limited possibilities that they were faced with.

"We could call the break-down service." Suggested Bones.

"Good idea."

Booth phoned the company after finding the number on a business card that had been slotted into the glove compartment of the car.

"Okay thanks." He said signing and hanging up.

"What did they say?"

"They said that they can't get anyone out until the snow lets up, it's too dangerous for anyone to come out. They said the earliest we could be picked up is tomorrow."

_"Tomorrow?"_

"Yeah, it can't be too dangerous, it's barely snowing anymore." The pair looked outside and as if to prove him wrong the shower seemed to quickly turn into a blizzard.

"This is stupid! I better phone my mother and tell her." Bones just nodded as Booth dialled the familiar number and waited for an answer.

"Ryan?" came the worried greeting.

"Um, no."

"Seeley?"

"Taylor?"

"Oh Seeley, where are you? Was the plane delayed even further? Mum told me about it. There would have to be a blizzard right about now wouldn't there! Ryan went out to pick up Jared and Sarah, they came up earlier than expected, arrived this afternoon, they haven't come back yet."

"We're about half an hour away from the house."

"Oh, you're on your way?"

"Not exactly, that stupid lane didn't have any light and we drove into a tree, we're basically snowed in!"

"What are you going to do?"

"I have no idea, I just thought I'd better ring to let Mum know that we had landed safely, only now we're stuck in a god damn snow pile!"

"Ryan's not answering his cell. What if he's stuck too?" Taylor sounded close to tears on the other end of the line and he had no idea what to say to her.

"I'm sure he's not, he'll probably be on his way right now. Is Mum there?"

The phone was handed to somebody and muffled words were exchanged. Booth checked out of the corner of his eye on Bones. She had her arms wrapped around herself and was shivering slightly despite the intense heat now coming from the vents.

_Her and her stubbornness, now she has a cold!_

"Seeley?"

"I'm here Mum." Realizing that he had been too busy studying his friend when his mother had answered he quickly switched his focus.

"Oh honey, Taylor said you're stuck in a snow pile."

"Yes we are."

55555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555

Taylor Kemp worriedly kept checking the window every two minutes to see if her husband would be returning anytime soon.

"Mummy?"

She turned to see her son yawning and rubbing his eyes, apparently only just having woken up.

"Joseph, what are you doing up honey, you're supposed to be asleep. You said Daddy would come up and say goodnight, he never did."

"Daddy's not home yet sweetheart." She told him gently taking his hand and leading him back up the stairs. "He'll be here soon, and when he is I'll send him and Uncle Jared up to say goodnight okay?"

Joseph nodded sleepily and allowed his mother to tuck him into his bed. Coming back down the stairs she saw that her mother had finished her conversation with her older brother and was now making herself busy by wrapping gifts in the dining room.

"What is he going to do?"

"Sorry dear?" her mother said looking up at her.

"Seeley and his friend, what are they going to do?

"Try and stay warm until the morning, it's only a while now." She said looking up at the clock above the fireplace. "They said they could send someone out at 6am as long as the snow had stopped and it's 11:45 now."

"Ryan's not back yet and he isn't answering his cell still." She sighed curling up on a chair at the table next to her mother, "What are those?"

Mary looked to where her daughter was pointing and saw that she had left the pile of Dr. Brennans books in sight.

"Oh!" She cried pulling a sheet of paper over them, "You aren't supposed to see them!"

"Dr. Brennan's books?" Taylor smiled and moved the sheet of paper from them; Mary slapped her hand away and put them out of reach.

"Yes, but you never saw them!"

"Were they signed?"

"You'll find out on Christmas Day."

"Can I read the back?"

"No! They're Christmas presents!"

"Okay, okay, I'll leave them alone. Was she nice?"

"Taylor, we didn't see her."

"But they were signed."

Mary glanced up at her daughter looking quite exasperated. Being the youngest, she had always had a mischievous streak within her.

"Yes she was nice."

"You're biased though." Taylor pointed out.

"How?"

"She's you favourite author."

55555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555

"You cold?" Booth asked knowing that she would lie and deny it.

"No, I'm fine."

"Well I'm cold, I'm getting a blanket, you want one?"

Bones glanced at him pointing and gesturing to behind the seats to the where the suitcases were packed.

"Well only if you find one."

He turned and reached over the back of the drivers seat to see if he could reach them from where he sat, reluctant to go back outside into the blizzard. Something distracted him, something from outside. A set of headlights were coming towards them.

"A car!"

Booth jumped out to flag them down. The car stopped and two men got out and Booth could see a third person sitting in the back.

"Seeley?"

"Jared?"

**A/N – Okay so there were a lot of mixed feelings on the whole Mum/Mom thing. Seeing as I've already written most of the chapters I am going to leave it as it is for the time being and I will try to write Mom when I start writing the new material. I think the reason for this is the fact that Booth is American and therefore would call his mother 'Mom'. I can't guarantee that I will remember every time as I don't want to focus on whether the language sounds 'American' or not, I want to focus on the plot. Feel free to make any other cultural/language suggestions though.**

**Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, I know mnay people are anticipating the meeting of Mary and Bones and I'm sorry that you've waited this long but I can tell you that they meet in the next chapter:)**

**Have a great Christmas Eve and please leave a review.**

**LJ**

**x x x **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer – I don't own Bones.**

**Mother Knows Best – Chapter 6**

"You have a problem with the car?"

"Yeh, I drove into a pile of snow."

Booth could see both Ryan and Jared's attempts to not laugh; he glared at them both, as the attempts were poor. Jared nodded to the car, the passenger seat in particular where Bones was sitting.

"You brought a girl home?" He asked incredulously.

"She's my partner, I didn't want her spending Christmas alone."

"Partner? Nobody says that anymore."

"I think he means she is his partner. You know literally? His FBI partner, right?" Ryan helped him out.

"Well actually she's an anthropologist."

"An anthrowhatnow?"

"Never mind."

Bones stepped out of the car, still dressed as lightly as she had been earlier.

"Booth, is everything alright?" She asked him, coming to meet the two men, "Are they going to help us?"

"Yes they are. Bones this is my brother and my brother in law, Jared and Ryan." Ryan stepped forward to shake her hand while Jared leant behind him and mouthed, _'Booth? Bones?"_

"Nice to meet you… uh… Bones?"

Before she had a chance to correct him on her name Jared had swept forward and kissed her on the cheek. Seeing Booth's disapproving glare as he stood straight again he smiled and pointed back to the car where a woman was currently climbing out.

"Relax man, I have my girl, I won't steal yours!"

Bones felt the heat reach her cheeks before she felt the familiar urge to correct him, for some reason that came much later than usual.

"Uh… I'm not… we're not…"

"Yeah, yeah I know, Seeley's told me. So is your real name Bones or is that some lame nickname that my little brother's come up with?"

"I didn't know we were having a party out here." A pretty brunette said approaching them.

"We're not. Seeley, Bones, this is Sarah. Sarah, this is my brother Seeley, and his girl, Bones."

"We're not together." Booth said, thinking he should set the record straight before anybody else thought that they were an item.

"My name's not Bones."

"Didn't think it would be."

"I'm Dr. Temperance Brennan." She said holding out her hand towards Sarah.

"The author?" Ryan asked.

"Yes."

"Taylor's been going on at Mary and I to get her your books for Christmas, Mary loves you."

"She does?" Booth asked.

"You know, why the hell are we standing in the middle of some abandoned road in the middle of a blizzard talking. Seeley grab your bags, we'll chuck them in the trunk next to Sarah's mine. Doctor, you come with me."

Ryan went to help Booth with the bags as Sarah, Jared and Bones made their way back to the minivan parked across from them.

"Here," Sarah said patting the empty space besides her, "Sit here."

"You getting bored of me?" Jared asked.

"No, you sit the other side, I just thought being surrounded by men, Temperance would want to sit next to some female company."

"Call me Tempe." Bones said smiling at the woman, social skills weren't her strongest characteristic but she liked this woman and could tell that they would get along well. In fact she liked all of Booth's family so far, with perhaps the slight exception of Rebecca and she wasn't really classed as family.

"Tempe." Sarah repeated.

6666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666

"Okay we are here." Ryan said pulling into the driveway of a large colonial style home. Bones looked up at it in awe, she had never had a proper home when she was younger, her parents were constantly moving and even the few houses she did remember, were no way near as nice, nor as large as this house. And while even now Bones was no stranger to luxurious materialistic objects, having earnt a fair bit with her job, she had never seen a nicer house that the one before her.

"You coming Bones?" Booth asked and she realized that everybody had got out and she was still sitting strapped into the car. She climbed out and helped Booth unload their luggage while Jared and Ryan were bombarded with a overenthusiastic greeting and welcoming from both Mary and Taylor. Neither seemed to notice the third family member currently fighting with Bones on whether she was going to carry her own luggage.

"I've got it Bones." Booth said pulling the bag back from her while trying to balance the other suitcases that he already had.

"I don't need you to carry my luggage for me Booth." She told him indignantly.

"I know you don't, but my mother always told me to be a gentleman and this is part of being that, so just while we're here in New York, you're going to have to oblige for my sake."

Bones didn't seem to be able to argue with that and conceded in letting him carry her cases up to the door. Mary noticed her son's arrival when he was halfway up the path. Stopping her assault on Jared and Sarah whom she had obviously just been introduced to she ran out.

"Arthur! Seeley's here too!" She called back into the open doorway.

"Hey Mom." He greeted, dropping the cases and hugging her back as she brought his cheek down to her level and planted a great big kiss on it, the way that only mothers can do. As if remembering something she stood back and clasped her hands together excitedly.

"Your friend Seeley. Where is she?"

Booth looked around and saw that Bones wasn't where he had last seen her to be.

"Um, she was here a minute ago. Hang on." Booth said turning back to the path and headed to the driveway. Bones was sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle.Sighing, he climbed in the car and sat beside her on the drivers seat.

"Bones, I thought you were behind me."

"I was, I mean, I just needed to be alone for a little while."

"Why?"

"Booth, I can't do this. Sorry." She said climbing out of the car and heading back down to the gate. Booth sat shocked for a moment before running after her. He caught up with her quickly.

"Can't do what?"

"This, all of this. I can't meet you parents now, not at Christmas."

"Yes you can, of course you can, come on, they'll love you. You heard Ryan, my mom's already a big fan."

"Your mother is expecting a girlfriend Booth. Have you ever brought a girl home before?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I don't exactly fit the profile do I?"

"You don't have to, you're my friend."

"Your mother doesn't see it that way, I can tell and I haven't even met her, I don't want to disappoint her, I know how it feels to have Christmas ruined."

"Bones, you're not going to ruin anybody's Christmas. I've told my mum that you're my partner, she and my father are going to like you. Trust me." He offered her a smile in the hope of one being returned. It wasn't.

"Promise?" She said seriously. He frowned at the childlike question.

"What?"

"Promise me Booth that Christmas will be fine, and your parents will be fine."

"I promise." He told her sincerely, he was almost certain that his family would like her; they liked everybody, well practically everybody. They were like New York's version of the Camden family with the exception that their father wasn't a minister, they didn't have 7 children and they didn't invite random strangers to come and live with them. Okay so technically they weren't like the Camden's at all but they had most of the same values.

"Come on then before we freeze to death out here."

Bones smiled and followed him back up to the house where the family still stood conversing on the porch, apparently awaiting their return. None of them noticed that they were approaching except for Arthur who had joined them. Recognizing the apprehension in Bone's expression he winked at her and decided not to tell them that they had returned. Booth cleared his throat and put a hand on Bones' back to support her.

"Mom, Dad, Taylor, this is Bones. Otherwise known as Dr. Te…"

"Dr. Temperance Brennan." Mary Booth squealed as she flew down the steps to greet her.

**A/N – Okay so I know they didn't get to talk or anything but I tried to write more and it didn't sound right and this looked like the best place to end this chapter. Hope everybody had a great Christmas. This is the first chapter that I have written since the whole Mum/Mom questioning and have tried to include it in. **

**Some reviewers also pointed out that the markers weren't showing. I have no idea why so I used the number 6 this time only to show the chapter number, not for some satanic reason.**

**Please review.**

**LJ  
x x x x**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer – I do not own Bones:) **

**Mother Knows Best – Chapter 7**

"You okay Bones?" a voice came from behind her, folding the last of her sweaters and placing them in the drawer in front she then turned around to face her partner.

"I'm fine Booth, just tired. I'll be fine in the morning."

"I'm sorry about my mother. She can get a bit obsessed about some things at times and it appears to be that your book is the flavour of the month for her."

"It's fine." Bones said, reassuring him that his mother was not upsetting her, "She's…" Bones seemed to struggle while trying to find the words that would put Booth's mind at ease, "I like her."

Booth smiled at her bluntness, he hadn't been worried that she wouldn't like his mother eventually, it was just that at time she was a bit full on with people and it could scare them off. If he was at all honest with himself and he knew that it was wrong to think so but he was more worried about whether or not his family would accept Temperance Brennan as easily as he had.

"Okay well I just wanted to let you know that tomorrow, my mother expects us all to go Christmas shopping with her, you know because the whole family's here. Is that alright?"

"Of course." She said beginning to hang up clothes on coat hangers and place them in the cupboard.

"Great, well I'll let you sleep then. If you need anything I'll be right down the hall okay?" Bones nodded in answering, "Well, night Bones."

"Goodnight Booth."

He shut the door behind on his way out and she sat on the bed to observe the room. It was painted a cream colour that she suspected looked seasonal in the summer and spring months. It looked slightly more festive due to the bed furnishings and curtains, which had obviously been put up for this time of year. The curtains that hung over the floor length window at the edge of the room were made from a velvety material and were a deep, rich red colour with a gold cord to tie around them. The bed covers almost matched with the exception of material, this time there was a satiny feel to the sheets.

The room was extremely large in size and though Bones was not an image conscious person most of the time, she was extremely glad to find a walk-in wardrobe and en-suite bathroom attached to the room. The house had been a lot bigger and luxurious than she had imagined it would. She had never known that Booth had come from money which he obviously did, she realized that when she saw the size of the yard that held numerous different gardens when she looked out of the window earlier that night.

Collapsing back on the bed and into the hundreds of pillows and cushions that lay atop the surface she wondered what it must have been like to grow up with a life like this. It was very obvious how loved and cherished Booth was as a part of a family, she could tell that by just listening to him bicker with his siblings and greet his parents. It wasn't something that she had completely forgotten, there was a time that she remembered when she was loved and valued as a member of a family, but it was so long ago and when something hurts so much some people tend to unwillingly make the memories of before that time go away. Bones was one of those people. It hurt too much to remember at the time of when it happened and as she grew older the memories of the feelings and emotions vanished. Nowadays she only felt a faint shimmer of what had been.

She tried to picture Booth as a little boy and found it easier than she should have done, of course it was a biased image as in it he looked exactly the same as Parker, only with darker hair. She imagined that his personality hadn't changed a lot for even now her partner was still a kid at heart. Bones found it incredibly amazing that she and him got along as well as they did, for logically speaking they had nothing but their line of work (as well as a secret love for the music of Foreigner) in common with each other.

She thought back to earlier that evening when she had properly been introduced to Booth's parents.

_Bones awkwardly hugged the older woman back feeling unused to the display of affection she was currently receiving._

_"I knew it! I knew it! Didn't I say Arthur?" She said excitedly, motioning for her husband to join her in the onslaught of Bones. Arthur smiled sheepishly at his son as he passed silently apologizing for Mary's behaviour. Booth watched on in amusement, as the normally reserved Bones had to play along for his sake._

_"I said to you Arthur! I said it was too coincidental!"_

_"Yes you did darling." Arthur agreed as his wife took him by the shoulders excitedly. He took the opportunity to slip out of her grasp and bend down to kiss Brennan on the cheek politely._

_"It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Brennan."_

_"Um… Temperance. Call me Temperance." Bones insisted bemusedly. She recognized the couple from the mall but did not seem nearly as excited as Booth's mother did._

_"This is so exciting!" Mary gushed leading Bones into the house leaving everybody else on the porch, she seemed to have forgotten about both of her sons, along with Jared's new girlfriend. To anybody else it may have seemed rude, but Sarah, assuming that Mary was just like Jared disregarded it and was having an animated conversation with Taylor._

_"You can tell me all about the part where…" Mary's voice trailed off as she left them behind. Booth seemed to remember his promise to Bones where he told her that his parents would be fine and while he knew that his mother could only talk somebody to death, he also knew that it was very late and Bones would appreciate being able to sleep. He sprung into action leaving the suitcases in the hallway as he chased his mother down in the dining room where she was spreading her entire collection of Dr. Temperance Brennan books over the table._

_"Mom." Mary didn't seem to notice her son talking to her as she continued to pour though the specially marked pages._

_"Mom!" _

_"Yes dear?" Mary looked up at him finally._

_"Bones and I have had a long day, I'm sure that this conversation could wait until the morning if you wouldn't mind."_

_"Of course! How rude of me. Temperance, Seeley will show you to your room. Give her nicest guest room, you know the one overlooking the lawn." She said the last bit in a stage whisper._

_"Yes Mom." Booth said as he led Bones out of the room._

_"Goodnight temperance."_

_"Goodnight Mrs. Booth."_

_"Mary. Call me Mary"_

**A/N – Oh my gosh, please don't hate me for not having updated in nearly a month. I just have so much to do right now. I'll try to get review replies out soon, I just wanted to make sure that you were able to read this chapter. I know that this is a festive story and I hope that interest won't diminish because of that.**

**Thank you for all your wonderful reviews, each and every one makes me smile.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer – I do not own Bones. :) **

**Mother Knows Best – Chapter 8**

Sleep came easily to Dr. Temperance Brennan that night, something that didn't happen all that often. It wasn't that she suffered from insomnia or any other sleep disorder; it was the fact that she was workaholic that deprived her from the much-needed rest that humans depend on. She'd got a full eight hours, despite their delayed arrival, it turned out that Booth's family didn't often see the need for alarm clocks.

Mary Booth had insisted on a large breakfast for everybody, Bones couldn't remember the last time she'd seen so many breakfast foods in one space apart from in aisle 21 of the local super mart. French toast, eggs, bacon, sausage links, pancakes, waffles, fruit, toast, bagels, hash browns, orange juice, apple juice, water, tea, coffee and even pomegranate juice had been spread out amongst several vases of freshly cut flowers. Not usually one to have time for breakfast, Bones found that she was helping herself to far more than the average human being finds healthy. As of course did the rest of the table.

"Drink your juice Joesph." Taylor said grabbing a napkin and wiping the crumbs from his face. He screwed it up and ducked away as she licked her finger to rub his cheek.

"_Mummy!" _The little boy cried.

"Eat more Jared, you're looking far too thin these days," Mary encouraged as she watched her son finish off his second round of pancakes, bacon and eggs. He smiled and obediently piled his plate high again. "You two fill up as well!"

Booth and Ryan both thought it best not to argue and they too filled their plates.

"Do you want some more French toast Sarah dear?" Mary asked.

"No thank you Mrs. Booth, I'm quite full. Not all of us are bottomless pits like your son here." She shook her head elbowing Jared in the side.

"_So, _Temperance. How did you meet my dear brother? He didn't pick you up at some sleazy bar because he's done that before." Taylor asked slyly, smirking at Booth's reaction from across the table.

Bones, clearly not noticing the implications shook her head and swallowed before answering. "No actually, I met him at the Jeffersoni…"

"Ooh a museum? How romantic. I can see it now Seeley. Sweet talking her by the Dinosaurs were we?"

"Yeah well he was with his own sort then, must have felt more comfortable." Jared said despite knowing that Bones was Booth's partner.

"Romantic? Well no actually it was very professional, and we weren't by the dinosaur's…"

Booth noticing the look on Taylor's face when Bones said 'professional' immediately cut in and choked out, "Partner."

"What?" She asked looking at her brother who was currently gasping for air after having swallowed a sausage link far too quickly in his haste to get her to be quiet.

"Seeley." Mary chided, "Don't speak with your mouth full." She poured him a glass of water and handed it to him.

"Partner. She's my partner Taylor. No, no, no, not romantic partner. Partner, partner."

"Like in the movies?" Joseph asked innocently. Booth smiled and nodded.

"Well if you don't mind me saying Seeley boy, you're protesting just a bit too much, never were one to be all serious, could take a joke last year, right Dad?" Jared said acknowledging his father at the head of the table who had resumed eating despite the ruckus happening between members of his family.

"Hmm?"

"Remember the snow incident, with the ice fishing?" Booths face lost a little colour at the memory.

"Jared, we don't need to be discussing childish pranks in front of our guests now do we?" Mary cut in gesturing towards Sarah and Bones.

"Oh don't worry, Sarah already knows, that prank was legendary, I told her on out first date. I'm sure that Doc would want to hear about it right?"

Bones looked a little confused at the new nickname but shrugged it off as being a Booth family male thing.

"Jared, stop talking and eat your breakfast."

"Have you not had enough yet?" Sarah asked incredulously, by now she was used to his eating habits but even this was unusual for him. He usually stopped after his second or third serving but currently her was getting his fourth lot of toast as well as a bagel on the side.

"I need food Sarah, I'm a growing man." He told her through a mouthful of food.

"Growing man? That's funny because I seem to remember you being that height since you were fifteen." Booth said lightly.

"This height which is _still_ a good couple of inches taller than you." Jared smirked back. Booth narrowed his eyes into a glare. Bones was watching the playful interaction with amusement, she wasn't used to this lighthearted banter over breakfast and it was pleasantly surprising as to how entertaining it was.

Two hours later the Booth's and their guest were packed into two cars and on their way to the local shopping mall. Bones was sitting in Booth's rental car with Jared and Sarah. She could vaguely hear them bickering in front of her as they debated on which route to take as they were in the lead but she was busy making a mental note of who she had to buy gifts for.

_Booth _(obviously she thought)

_Mr and Mrs. Booth_

_Angela _

_Hodgins_

_Za…_

"Bones!"

"Yes!" She snapped out of her daze an saw Booth looking at her through the mirror.

"You alright there, you kind of zoned out on me a little bit." He sounded worried, not obviously worried but still enough for her to pick up on it.

"I'm fine. I'm trying to think of a Christmas list. Do you think I should send Goodman something? What about Cam?"

"Um…?" He looked perplexed by the sudden onslaught of Christmas cheer radiating from his partner. "Do, uh, do whatever you think is best."

"Hmm, I just don't want to forget anybody. I mean it's my first real Christmas in years and I really want to get it right."

Booth grinned at her and shook his head slightly.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Well it clearly was something otherwise you wouldn't have been laughing at me."

"I wasn't… Look Bones don't worry about it."

"I'm not, I would just rather know what you finding to amuse you."

"Nothing," he said, catching her glare in the mirror and his brothers smirk in the corner of his eye he continued, "It's just that I've never seen you so, so… Christmassy."

"Christmassy? That's the best word you could come up with?"

"What is wrong with the word Christmassy? And anyay, what word would _you_ have used?"

"About a thousand others, _festive, merry, jovial, jolly, chipper…"_

"I know." Sarah giggled from behind her hand. Bones glanced at her leaning forward in her seat as she engaged in conversation with Jared. Seeing Bones stop talking, Booth glanced at his brother.

"… it's so cute, they're cute!"

"Personally I think it's rather sickening."

"Jared!"

"Oh come on! Even I don't flirt with you that…"

A sharp, bony elbow jabbed him in his side causing him to yelp in pain before noticing that Booth was glaring daggers at him.

"We weren't-" Bones started.

"Keep your eyes on the road!" Jared cried as Booth saw a truck coming up the narrow road they were on, "You are going to get us killed! All because of your flirting!"

"I wasn't flirting!"

"Right and there goes a flying little pig! Sheesh, you really should brush up on your techniques otherwise you would have her by now."

"You know what just don't talk – be quiet!"

"I could give you a few tips."

"Shut the hell up Jared!"

**A/N – Okay I know this is long overdue and****I profusely apologize for it being so late. I hope people are still interested in this even though it isn't Christmas.**

**Hope you are all well,**

**LJ**

**X x x**


	9. Chapter 9

Mother Knows Best – Chapter 9 

**Disclaimer – I do not own Bones. **

By the time that Booth had pulled into the shopping mall, he was just about ready to throw Jared out onto the side of the road amongst the snow. The comments about him and Bones hadn't stopped for the whole journey.

As soon as the car was parked, Sarah jumped out, dragging Jared out as well. She pulled him in the direction of where Ryan had parked the rest of the family in the next row of spaces.

"Umm, sorry about him, he can be kind of… well…"

"I understand, he's like you." Bones said wrapping her scarf around her neck and putting her coat on. Booth stepped out of the driver's side and stepped back to open the door for her.

"Um, excuse me? What do you mean by that?" He asked indignantly as she climbed down, careful not to slip on the patches of ice under the snow.

"I mean, the similarities between the two of you are obvious. Genetically…"

"I am _not_ like him!"

"Booth, I'm not saying it to upset you, I'm merely stating a fact." She told him steadily catching up the group who were on their way to the entrance.

"But it's not fact!!!!!"

"Come on lovebirds!" Jared called over his shoulder grinning like a maniac to Booth who glowered at him.

"He's doing it to wind us up you know." Booth said.

"It's working isn't it?" Bones commented looking up at the frustrated expression on her partners face.

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

Bones followed obediently as she was being dragged through department store after department store. Sarah and Taylor were happily squealing over outfits the Joseph might fit into while Mary scooped the after and handed them discretely to the personal shopper that she had insisted on having. The women had separated from the men and had agreed to meet for lunch in the food court. Booth had seemed a little dubious at first as to whether or not Bones would survive the shopping experience. She had insisted that she wasn't as frail as she seemed when it came to this type of thing but she was currently having second thoughts after Taylor had insisted on seeing every tie in the men's department to make sure she had the perfect one for her husband to wear at the Christmas Eve party that the Booth's always held.

"I need to find something to wear too." Sarah said, "Jared never told me that I'd need something formal to wear, I didn't even know that there would be a party."

Truth was that Bones had had no idea that such a party existed either; luckily she never travelled without some sort of suit jacket and trousers and could wear those.

"Ooh, okay then women's department it is!" Taylor exclaimed, charging towards the elevators and incredible speed. "Mum, this way!"

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

"I'm _bored!_" Joseph sighed as he was literally pulled to his feet from where he and Booth were currently sitting on plush seats of the perfume department.

"Okay kiddo, we only have a few more things to get before we can go and have some lunch. What are you going to have?" Ryan asked his son deliberately distracting him from the task of shopping. Taylor had left Joseph in his care while they went shopping; the deal was that she would take him after lunch. Ryan had a strong suspicion that he would be entertaining his son after they ate as well. Not that he minded of course, he was fairly certain that however painful the experience was for Joseph at the minute, it would be even worse if her were to go with his mother.

"Ummmmm…"

"Seeley! Get up, we're moving!" Jared shouted from where he was purchasing his gift for Sarah.

"I don't think I can walk anymore." He complained; Ryan shot him a look to let him know that he wasn't helping the current situation with Joseph moaning.

"Can I get something from Chuckie's Chicken Place?"

"Sure, and then how about desert from Cinderella's Cakes?"

"Yeh!" Joseph cried enthusiastically despite having been exhausted two minutes earlier.

Booth was following behind Ryan, Joseph and his father. Unfortunately for him, he was about to be joined by Jared who seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"No perfume for the doc?"

"Huh?"

Jared gave him an obvious look and Booth shook his head.

"I don't know what she likes, she's just my partner."

"It doesn't matter what she like, you get what you want her to smell of!" Jared sighed exasperatingly. "So what are you going to give her?"

"I don't know." Booth said honestly, he hadn't really thought about it, he's been so focused on the persuading her to come, he hadn't really considered what he might get her.

Jared suddenly stopped grabbing Booth by the arm so he stopped as well. Booth looked questionably at his brother who held his bicep with a vice like grip. Jared just grinned and nodded his head towards the escalators.

"Come on." He told him dragging him down a flight.

"What about Dad?"

"What about him?"

"We can't just walk off."

"Sure we can! We're grown men, we'll be fine by ourselves and if you're worried then your big brother will look after you."

Seeley glared at him and rolled his eyes, he really did not think that Jared could be serious about anything in his life.

"We can't leave him!"

"Seeley, generally when the sons are grown men, the father is also fully grown and can therefore look after himself. Besides even if he couldn't, he has Ryan. You know how sensible that guy is."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see, I had sudden inspiration for a gift for the doc."

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

"No way!"

"Come on Tempe! You have to!" Sarah was currently waving the tiny piece of material in front of her. Mary had excused herself from the shop with the excuse that she had to but a present for Joseph. Bones was currently wishing that she had gone with her.

"I'm not wearing that!"

"It'll be fun! Just do it, it's only you, me and Taylor here." Sarah cried as Taylor laughed besides her. They were both clad only in the minimalist lingerie, giggling and twirling like schoolgirls in front of the mirror. Bones was sitting on the velvet loveseat still fully dressed and refusing to participate in any type of changing.

"But it's so your colour!" Taylor piped up as she held the garment up against her. It was an emerald colour decorated with lace and beads. Sarah was done up in black and Taylor was in a very provocative Santa's little helper outfit.

"Please?"

Bones looked warily at the curtain, grabbed the slip and pulled the curtain firm against the wall.

Taylor and Sarah squealed and fell back against the loveseat. Five minutes later, and Bones had still not emerged from the changing room.

"Uh, Tempe? Are you alright?"

"I'm not coming out!"

"How are you going to see it? The mirror's out here."

"There is also a lot of people out there, shopping!"

"Tempe, most of the people in the store are dressed worse than we are."

It was true the lingerie shop was strictly for adults which allowed the shop assistants to wear far less than they usually could and they were all clad in the Christmas range of underwear.

The curtain was pulled back quickly and suddenly and Bones was standing there, blushing at her lack of clothing.

"Wow! You have to get that!"

"_What_, no!"

"I'm getting this…"

"… and I'm getting this. You have to."

"I'd never wear it!"

"Why not?"

"I'd have no reason to."

"Well then make reas…"

A strangled cough and a cry of disgust interrupted their argument and the three of them turned to see Jared and Booth standing in the shop. Jared was looking at his sister with a horrified expression on his face while Booth, seeming not to have noticed Taylor was staring shocked at Bones.

**Okay then, I am soooooooo unbelievably sorry, I had no idea that I wouldn't update for this long. I don't know what happened since June when I last posted, good news is, this is back in time for the festive season.**

**Please review and forgive me:(**

**Lots and lots and lots of apologies and kisses;**

**LJ**

**X x x x x **


	10. Chapter 10

Mother Knows Best – Chapter 10 Mother Knows Best – Chapter 10

**Disclaimer – I do not own Bones. **

101010101010101010101010101010101010101010

"Oh my god." Bones muttered.

"Bones!!" Booth cried once he'd shaken himself out of it, whipping his jacket off and quickly covering her with it, "What do you think you're wearing?!"

"Would you cover up please?!" Jared spoke from between his fingers as his hands were covering his face, not wanting to see his sister dressed as she currently was. Taylor rolled her eyes and picked up her coat that was hanging in one of the changing rooms and put it on over the Santa outfit, Sarah made to do the same but was stopped by Jared's hand darting out to grab her wrist.

"Hang on, I never got to see what you're wearing." He said, "Are you covered up yet?!"

"Oh no, no, no. You don't get to see this now, you have to wait." Sarah smirked going back into the changing room and letting the curtain drop behind her.

"No! Wait!" Jared cried, feeling for the curtain, instead he just ended up hitting Booth in the face.

"Watch it!" He snapped.

"Quit being a baby, I have my coat on!"

Jared dropped his hand and immediately made for the changing room that Sarah was in only to be met with a pair of hands that sent him flying backwards.

"What on earth are you doing in here?" Bones asked incredulously. If Seeley Booth blushed, he would have been scarlet by now.

"Uh, uhm-"

"Well I thought I'd get myself a little Christmas present for Sarah, seems as if she had the same idea-ow!" Jared stepped in to help Booth out only to find that he was poked from behind the curtain by his girlfriend, "What was that for?"

"For being so assuming"

"Well come on the doc was getting something for Booth – OW! What is it with people wanting to hurt me?"

"I'm going to get changed." Bones said quietly, slipping back into her own cubicle with Booth's jacket still on. As soon as she had disappeared both Booth and Taylor turned on Jared, Booth glaring, with his eyes blazing and Taylor slapping him on the arm.

"You idiot, we almost had her convinced to buy it!" Taylor whispered. "Seeley, give me a leg up so I can reach his head!"

"Uhm, not likely given what you're wearing, don't think I didn't notice!" Booth glanced distastefully down at what his sister was wearing, the white fur noticeable as it was peeking out of the top of her trench coat.

"What's that look for, I am a grown woman for goodness sake!"

"Taylor, you're 25!" Jared cried. Taylor raised an eyebrow in question.

"Oh wow, that makes me a good 10 years older than when you first saw one of these!" She snapped back before storming back into her cubicle as Sarah came out of hers. The black lingerie was carefully concealed in a basket with flannel pyjamas on top. Jared went to pick them up but his hand was slapped away.

"Flannel pyjamas? Come on Sarah I haven't done anything to upset you, why are you buying those?" She did blush at this, considering several customers had turned round at the volume at which Jared was speaking.

"Shh, there's nothing wrong with flannel – and anyway they're a present for Bella!"

Jared looked extremely relieved at being told that they were a present for her friend. He followed her to the counter and she threw a couple of items on top of the pyjamas on the way. Bones and Taylor came out a couple of minutes later and Bones handed Booth back his jacket as she put the green slip back on the hanger and on the rack. Taylor glared at Jared as she did this and he shrugged in response. Sarah had finished paying, all of her items placed carefully in tissue and then in a box and then in a bag, it reminded Booth of the scene in Love Actually where the assistant went over the top with the service and packaging.

"Right!" Jared said, clapping his hands together, "Are we ready for lunch?"

"Hang, on I just want to pay for this." Taylor said, rummaging around in her purse for her money. Booth and Jared's mouths dropped open as she placed the Santa themed lingerie on the counter and the barely dressed assistant scanned it.

"No way! Ryan LIKES that?" Taylor threw a dirty look over her shoulder at her eldest brother. His face lit up at this, "Oh my god, that DOG! I always knew he must have been hiding something like this! He was waaay too sensible and … girly for his own good!"

"Come on." Booth led Bones out of the shop with his hand on her back. Jared elbowed Sarah, pointing obviously to the display of possessiveness. She rolled her eyes and followed them out of the store.

"So Ma'am, we have several items that you may be interested in that are in the same range as this piece, we have the…"

"She'll be fine thank you." The shop assistant looked slightly annoyed at the gentleman who had interrupted her but a smile flickered back onto her painted face as he gave her an award-winning smile.

"No I'm not, I'll have whatever you have in the range." Taylor glared back at him in defiance. His smile fell off his face whilst the shops assistant's lit up. She began bustling about the store picking up items here and there and bringing them back to the till. She didn't seem to notice the two siblings having a stare-off in front of her.

"I'll tell Mom." It was the only response that would come to Jared and even as he said it, he couldn't help thinking of what a lame reply it was. Taylor burst out laughing and turned to pay for them. "I'm serious! She won't want you wearing them in the house,_ I _don't want you wearing them in the house."

"I won't be wearing them for long." She grinned, taking in her brothers delayed reaction to her comment. It was a disgusted, horrified look that she was sure she would never have the pleasure of seeing again.

"Fine then!" Jared stormed off, but instead of joining his brother, girlfriend and Bones who were sitting outside on the benches, he went deeper into the store, picking up a basket on the way.

He picked up several articles before slamming the basket down on the counter just as Taylor had finished paying the hefty price for her four bags of lingerie. She glanced down into the basket, not giving the response that Jared had hoped for.

"You're buying Tempe's slip for Sarah?"

"No that's my secret present for Seeley." She shrugged her shoulders and started to leave. Jared was shocked to see her not go crazy, in the same way that he had when he had seen what she was buying. She stopped halfway on her walk to the door and threw another comment back at her brother.

"Oh and I don't think Sarah's going to want to wear cherry nipple covers." She smirked and continued on her way, the smile only faltering when her brother's response reached her over the festive music playing outside the store.

"Well it's a good thing they're for me then."

101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010

"I'm hungry!" Joseph whined from his seat next to his grandmother who was delighting in taking photos of him in a little Santa hat that she'd found in a toy store.

"I know buddy. Your Mom should be here any minute now. Along with, I hope your uncles." Ryan said, looking around the food court for his wife.

At the mention of her two sons who had wandered off in the mall over an hour ago, leaving her husband and son-in-law with her handful of a grandson she took another glance at her watch.

"They MUST be together, I can't imagine Temperance being late for anything, it's Jared. I know it is, he's a bad influence. You must speak to him Arthur."

"Yes Mary, I'll speak to out 34 year old son about his punctuality and influence over others," his response was sarcastic but it seemed to please his wife so he didn't pursue the matter further.

"I can hear Mommy!" Joseph cried happily, jumping up on his chair looking around the mall in search for his mother.

"So can I, or I can hear her and Jared arguing anyway." Ryan mumbled, pulling his son back down into his seat.

The group reached the table and collapsed into the empty chairs that were left in the booth. The personal shopper seemed to have disappeared, probably in need of a good lunch break having following Mary, the shopaholics of all shopaholics.

"Sorry we're late Mrs. Booth, we got caught up in the queues at Dillards. We were looking for dresses to wear for the party tomorrow." The lie slipped easily off of Sarah's tongue, obviously not wanting to divulge the information that they had in fact been caught up between a shop-off between Taylor and Jared in an erotic lingerie store.

Mary immediately forgave them, seeming helpless at Sarah's charm. They all placed orders with Jared and Ryan who went off to purchase the food.

"Bought anything nice dear?" Mary asked her son, her eyes gleaming, "A present perhaps for Temperance?"

Bones blushed and looked down into her lap. Booth looked worriedly at her, she had been extremely quiet that day, not just after having left the last shop.

"Uhm, no not yet. Bones, you alright?"

He was hoping for a response somewhere along the lines of, '_I'm fine, Booth, honestly I can look after myself!'_

It never came.

"Yes." She smiled and was grateful when Ryan returned with the salad she had asked him to get for her along with a large coffee and a bottle of water. Taking a giant sip of the water, she involuntarily shivered. Booth noticed and raised an eyebrow in question.

"It's iced." She explained.

Not fifteen minutes later, she was taking off the sweater she had put on this morning, brushing her hair out of he face that had matted to her forehead with sweat. She was left in a thin t-shirt, one that was far too cold to be wearing at the time of year.

This time the whole family noticed and was looking oddly at her. Despite the sheen visible on her face she shivered noticeably.

"What's the matter?"

Booth slammed his coke down onto the table and reached over to feel her forehead.

"Dammit Bones, I TOLD you to stay out of that blizzard and in the CAR!"

101010101010101010101010101010

**A/N – Okay I'm very sorry for having not updated in forever. This year has been tricky for me, very, very hectic. If I am still lucky enough to have reviewers then please review.**

**Hugs and kisses**

**LJ**

**X x x x**


	11. Chapter 11

Mother Knows Best – Chapter 11 Mother Knows Best – Chapter 11

**Disclaimer – I of course DO NOT own Bones, not will I ever.**

The man was tall and dark haired, brown eyes were staring lovingly down into softer, more feminine orbs. He reached down kissed her gently on the lips before embracing her passionately with as much force as he could without hurting her it seemed.

Bones scoffed loudly and changed the channel to find something that she'd prefer to watch. She came across the movie that had been playing on the flight she had been on a few days earlier, the one with the green monster. She checked the doorway, muted the channel and checked to see if anybody was coming up the stairs, not being able to hear anybody, she turned the sound up and snuggled down into the pillows, trying to make more sense of the plot this time.

She was currently collapsed among the cushions, pillows and several blankets that were piled on the bed she was occupying. Tissues surrounded her as she would not reach the bin from her place on the bed and she didn't have the energy to move and put them in there.

In all honesty, no matter what she had told Booth and his family, she could not remember feeling as bad as she was right now, for a very long time. Perhaps not even when she was a young girl in her teens. The cold had overtaken her quickly; Booth had insisted he drive her home after lunch in the food court, despite her protests about ruining the shopping trip. Taylor had insisted she go home, and Joseph and Arthur were more than willing to accompany them home. Ryan was being forced to stay with his wife, under the excuse that he had to help choose last minute presents that were essential to be chosen together.

She had felt herself burning up in the car on the way home. Booth had glanced over in her direction worriedly all the way home before he made her get into bed whilst he and Arthur tried to figure out how to work the stove in the incredibly huge kitchen so they could make her soup. Joseph had stayed with her during this time. She had urged him to leave, not wanting the young boys Christmas to be ruined by the cold she was worried her would catch but he would not leave her side. She was pleased for the company, especially considering he reminded her so much of Parker, and she had always secretly loved telling him stories.

And so that was how she was in bed 7 hours later, having been practically force fed several different flavours of soup, had her temperature checked on numerous occasions and having had every single member of Booth's family check up on her. She felt like she was being a burden and it worried her that it would affect any opinion they may already have of her. She wasn't often insecure, but in the presence of Booth's family, she felt like she for some reason wanted to belong. He was one of the only true friends she had and she wanted his family to like her.

She was lost in the confusion that was Whoville and didn't notice when Booth came into the room, smirking when he saw her expression, it was one of utter perplexity. He carried the tray into the room and Bones didn't look up, or even realise anyone was in the room until he set it down on the bedside cabinet next to the bed. She started when he did and turned to glare at him.

"What?" he asked innocently. She ignored him and blushed at having been caught at being so enticed by a children's holiday film. She went to grab the remote to change the channel but couldn't as Booth had it and was already turning the volume up.

"I was just about to turn it over." She stated simply.

"Course you were." He said, scooting her over on the bed so he could stretch out on top of the covers.

"I was. " She insisted. He gave her a look and she shut up.

"Well if you were, you were about to miss the best bit."

"I don't understand how people are able to understand it Booth. The science behind it doesn't work, surely people don't need to be incredibly educated to realise that."

"It's called pretending Bones."

He reached over to the tray that he'd set down and handed her a glass of water and two pills. She took them obediently and drank the rest of the water.

"What's going to happen tomorrow?"

"Your parents never told you?!" Booth looked shocked. Bones looked confused as she waited for him to continue, "Well, Santa usually comes around midnight, give or take a few minutes, after all he has a lot of houses to visit, we leave him a cookie and some milk…" he trailed off as Bones lightly slapped him on the arm.

"What am _I_ going to do tomorrow? I don't know if I'll be well enough to go to the party and I don't want you running up and down those stairs coming and checking up on me in the middle of it."

"Relax, tomorrow is tomorrow, the party's a whole 24 hours away, you might be fine by then, if not then we'll sort it out tomorrow."

"But…"

"Shh! This part is the best!" Booth cried enthusiastically with child-like excitement. Bones sighed and fell further back into the cushions, once again focusing her attention on the movie.

111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

"Shh! You'll wake them!" A whispered hush fell upon the room, not enough to wake the sleeping occupants of the room, but enough to pull them from the deep slumber they'd previously been in.

"I don't know how…"

"Here, give it to me! Honestly – women! – OUCH"

A blinding flash lit up the room from the dimmed lighting. Bones blinked groggily and opened her eyes; they focused on the doorway of the room.

"Oh crap!"

Bones heard Booth growl from besides her before she even realised he was in the room with her. Now she was able to notice that he very much was, in fact he was sprawled out besides her on her bed. He flew off the bed and towards Jared and Taylor who stood by the door, a camera in Jared's hand and the case in Taylor's.

"RUN!" Jared roared before spinning round, nearly knocking his sister over in the process before shooting off down the hallway, grabbing his sibling's wrist roughly and dragging her with him. Before Bones was able to make out what had happened, Booth was out the door after them.

A loud crash was heard from somewhere downstairs before she heard her partner's brother defending himself yelling.

"Seeley Booth!"

Bones cringed internally as she imagined Booth was right now, his mother had obviously caught him doing something horrible to either Taylor or Jared. She tried to block the sound of Mary's voice chastising all three of her now adult children for behaving as they had done a good 20 years ago. It was dark outside the window now, the curtains hadn't been closed and she was able to see the snowflakes falling gently outside.

Before she had realised that any time al all had passed, Booth was coming back into the room and clearing away the tissues from the bed and placing the glass of water back on the tray.

"Sorry about that Bones, I didn't think they'd do anything like that. Jared says he'll delete the photo but I'm not sure he will, I'll do it myself tom…"

"Don't worry about it." She smiled gently, still focused on the snow falling outside. The pills had made her sleepy and despite obviously having slept for a good portion of the afternoon, she still felt drained and tired. "I don't care if they have a photo of me."

Booth raised an eyebrow in obvious surprise at her response. "You don't?"

"No. Maybe I can convince Cam to have it put on the database at work, I've been meaning to update the photo."

"Huh?"

"You could be put on there too, you don't have a photo at the Smithsonian yet" She yawned and fell dead asleep on the cushions.

Booth was growing more confused and concerned for his partner's state of mind during her speech. He let out a sigh of relief as she fell back, snoring softly.

He picked up the tray and managed to turn the light off on his way out with his elbow. From the darkness, Bones spoke softly making Booth jerk involuntarily as he was caught off guard.

"You'll come back won't you?"

He felt his heart pull unexpectedly at her words and a rather odd feeling of disappointment when he remembered that she was delirious from the medication that she had taken.

"Of course." He replied, imagining the look on her face when she woke up the next morning, or even worse in the middle of the night, saw him next to her and had to accept the fact that she had_ asked _him to stay with her.

It would almost be worth the silent treatment and powerful hit he was certain to receive. It wasn't worth however, the humiliation that he knew she would feel and so closed the door quietly behind him, telling himself that the next time he would knock and open the door would be the next morning.

11-11-11-11-11-11-11

When Temperance Brennan awoke the next morning, it was to the feeling that she had a pile of lead bricks on top of her, her throat was still on fire and her head was pounding, especially with the morning sunshine streaming through the still not shut curtains.

She rolled over carefully, trying to cause the least amount of pain for herself as possible and saw that it was 9:30am. She groaned at the loss of time in the day and tried to sit up just as Joseph made an appearance at the door, knocking once before barrelling in and jumping up on the bed. Booth was hot on his heels and scooped him up before he was able to jerk the bed again after having bounced to his feet, clearly planning on having a jumping on the bed contest with himself.

"Joseph! You promised that you would leave Doctor Bones in peace while we leave this here." Booth quietly chastised him under his breath. He clearly had not realised that said doctor was very much awake now, after having had her insides moved in an extremely unpleasant manner.

"Uuuuggghhh!"

"Arrgghhh" Joseph and Booth both jumped as the seemingly unconscious Brennan made her presence known in the room.

"I'm awake." She clearly did not find the strength within herself to be able to laugh at her partner's expense.

"Shiiiiieeeessshh Bones!" Booth trailed off on the expletive, glancing as his nephew seated himself, this time carefully, upon the comforter at the foot of the bed, "We brought you breakfast."

"I made the smiley face on your pancakes." Joseph exclaimed proudly, grabbing the plate off of the tray before his uncle was able to stop him. He thrust it in front of her and after she sat up, she was vaguely able to make out that the streak of bacon was the mouth, the sausage link was the nose and the pile of fruit on each side were eyes. It was the worst face she had ever seen recreated in her life, but instead of telling the young boy that his replication of a human was not anatomically correct, she beamed at him and took the plate.

"Thank you Joseph. It's lovely."

"Mommy helped me." He confessed.

"We'll leave you alone now Bones." Booth said, once again scooping the young boy into his arms and off of the bed.

"No! Wait! I mean… um… I'd really love some company."

"You would?"

"Well, yes – I mean I probably won't be able to go to the party tonight and you'll all be so busy planning that, I suppose now's the only time I'll get you see you both and, I mean you don't if you don't…"

"Don't be silly Doctor Bones. I'll go get my breakfast too. We can watch The Santa Clause!"

Joseph rushed from the room and he could be heard thundering down the stairs, or well as much as a young child could _thunder _down the stairs. Bones locked eye contact with her partner across the room. He grinned boyishly at her and she hesitantly returned the smile.

The easy casual atmosphere that usually flowed between them had gone and had been replaced with something much more… awkward. Strange and awkward, yet still comfortingly familiar at the same time. Bones had no idea what had caused the change and this scared her.

What scared her even more was the fact that she _liked_ the new atmosphere. Perhaps a bit more than she should have done.

**A/N – Well there's Chapter 11! :D Hope I didn't keep you waiting **_**too**_** long this time. I was really trying to have this posted before the end of August but was called in for some MAJOR overtime. Besides, it's only a couple of weeks late. **

**Please review, let me know what you thought of the chapter, and if you have any suggestions, please let me know. I know where the stories heading and how it's going to end, but anything in between is still undecided. **

**I will hopefully start work on the next chapter straight away, don't have too much work at the minute and am still able to write fanfiction. Have no idea how long it will last.**

**Anyway, I hope you all are FABULOUS, and am also hoping that some of the lurkers out there who only read or put this on alert will review because I am DYING to know what you think of it. Take care!**

**LJ**

**X x x x**


End file.
